Recycled paper smoothing device for used paper recycling apparatus

ABSTRACT

A recycled paper smoothing technology capable of regenerating the wet paper made and formed in the paper making process unit of the paper making unit securely as a smooth recycled paper free from wrinkle, in a very narrow used paper processing space of a used paper recycling apparatus of furniture size. A recycled paper smoothing unit has a smooth surface belt for conveying the wet paper, and a belt guide unit for conveying and guiding the smooth surface belt in a state curved upward toward the running direction thereof, and the wet paper on the smooth surface belt conveyed by the smooth surface belt is provided with a tension uniformly in the conveying and running direction, by the running action of the smooth surface belt, and the curved shape of the smooth surface belt due to the belt guide unit, so that a smooth recycled paper free from wrinkle is regenerated securely.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a recycled paper smoothing device forused paper recycling apparatus, and more particularly to a recycledpaper smoothing technology in a used paper recycling apparatus of asmall furniture size to be installed at the site of origin of usedpaper, for regenerating and processing the used paper into a reusablepaper at the site without disposing and discarding.

2. Description of the Related Art

Used paper occurs everyday and everywhere, including government offices,companies, and general household, such as used and unnecessarydocuments. Generally, used paper is disposed as refuse, incinerated, ordiscarded.

On the other hand, from the global trend of effective use of limitedresources on earth, various technologies have been developed forregenerating and reusing the used paper discarded so far withoutdisposing or discarding.

These used paper recycling technologies are mostly employed in the papermaking industry, and the used paper recycling equipment requires, likean ordinary paper making equipment, a vast land, a tremendous capitalinvestment, and a huge amount of chemicals and water used in papermaking, for the purpose of fast and mass production of recycled paper,and enhancement of paper quality.

Used paper recycling requires manual used paper collection works by manypeople, and involves various problems, such as mixture of foreignmatter, defective sorting due to lack of knowledge about used paperrecycling, failure in removal of debris, and many others, and if usedpaper is collected, in order to regenerate the used paper as recycledpaper perfectly by 100%, final sorting by specialists and cleaning orscreening should be needed. Moreover, used paper includes confidentialdocuments, and due to the confidential problems, such documents are notcollected as general garbage, but may be incinerated and discarded, andrecycling is not promoted in certain fields.

To solve these problems of used paper recycling, it is effective todevelop a technology capable of regenerating and utilizing at the siteof origin of the used paper, and from such point of view, the presentapplicant has developed and proposed various used paper recyclingapparatus as disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent ApplicationLaid-Open No. 2007-308837.

This used paper recycling apparatus relates to a used paper recyclingapparatus of a large scale such as used paper recycling plant, realizedas an apparatus to be installed indoors in a small shop, a generalhousehold, or the like, and the apparatus includes, in an apparatus caseof furniture size, a pulp making unit for macerating and beating usedpaper and manufacturing used paper pulp, a paper making unit formanufacturing recycled paper by making the used paper pulp manufacturedin the pulp making unit, and a control unit for driving and controllingthe pulp making unit and the paper making unit by interlocking, in whichthe paper making unit includes a paper making process unit for producingwet paper by making the used paper pulp sent from the pulp making unit,and a drying process unit for produced recycled paper by drying the wetpaper made and formed in the paper making process unit, and these twoprocess units are composed in a form of a belt conveyor having a runningbelt for processing and conveying the used paper pulp.

The used paper is macerated and beaten in the pulp making unit andbecomes used paper pulp, and this used paper pulp is conveyed on therunning belt of the belt conveyor in the paper making unit, and isprocessed in the processes of filtering and dewatering, squeezing anddewatering, and heating and drying, and is recycled paper is obtained.In this process, at the stage of pulp, the used paper is decomposed tofiber level, and written or printed characters and diagrams arecompletely decomposed and lost, and cannot be restored, so that theconfidential information or personal information composed in thesecharacters and diagrams are securely prevented from leaking ordisclosing outside.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a primary object of the present invention to present a novelcleaning technology of a used paper recycling apparatus further improvedfrom the conventional used paper recycling apparatus.

It is other object of the present invention to present

The present invention is devised in the light of the conventionalproblems, and it is hence an object thereof to present a recycled papersmoothing technology capable of regenerating securely as a smoothrecycled paper free from wrinkles from wet paper made and formed in thepaper making process unit of the paper making unit, in a very narrowused paper processing space of a used paper recycling apparatus offurniture size to be installed indoors in a small shop, a generalhousehold, or the like, not limited to a large office or the like, inparticular, by improving the configuration of the drying process unit inthe paper making unit of the used paper recycling apparatus.

To achieve the object, the recycled paper smoothing device of the usedpaper recycling apparatus of the present invention is a recycled papersmoothing device for smoothing and processing recycled paper, beingdisposed in a paper making unit for manufacturing recycled paper bymaking from used paper pulp manufactured in a proceeding process of pulpmaking unit, in a used paper recycling apparatus of furniture size to beinstalled at the site of origin of used paper, in which in the papermaking unit, the recycled paper smoothing device is provided in a dryingbelt conveyor unit for producing recycled paper by drying the wet papermade and formed in a paper making belt conveyor unit for producing wetpaper by making from used paper pulp, and the recycled paper smoothingdevice constitutes the drying belt conveyor unit, and comprises a smoothsurface belt for running and conveying the wet paper, and belt guidemeans for guiding the running smooth surface belt in a state curvedupward toward the running direction, while sliding and supporting therunning smooth surface belt from the lower side, and therefore the wetpaper on the smooth surface belt conveyed by the smooth surface belt isprovided with a tension uniformly at least in the conveying and runningdirection, by the running action of the smooth surface belt, and thecurved shape of the smooth surface belt by the belt guide means.

A preferred embodiment is composed as follows.

(1) Having pressing means for pressing the entire wet paper conveyed onthe smooth surface belt with a uniform pressure from the upper side,this pressing means is formed as a covering belt conveyor having acovering belt for running with covering the entire wet paper on thesmooth surface belt together with the smooth surface belt, and thecovering belt has its lower side cooperating with the upper side of thesmooth surface belt so as to form a flat smoothing action surface forsmoothing and processing the entire wet paper.

(2) The belt guide means is provided a curved guide surface having amain curved section curved upward to the running direction of the smoothsurface belt, and this smooth surface belt is designed to run in a statebeing curved upward, as being guided by sliding on the curved guidesurface of the belt guide means.

(3) The curved guide surface of the belt guide means has an auxiliarycurved guide section curved upward vertically to the main curvedsection.

(4) The belt guide means is formed of a plate material curved and formedupward toward the running direction of the smooth surface belt, and itsupper side is the curved guide surface.

(5) The belt guide means functions also as heating means for heating thesmooth surface belt from the lower side, and the wet paper on the smoothsurface belt is heated and dried indirectly by the smooth surface beltheated by this heating means.

(6) The heating means is a heater plate curved and formed upward towardthe running direction of the smooth surface belt, and the upper side ofthis heater plate is the curved guide surface.

(7) The covering belt conveyor includes the covering belt formed as anendless belt running with covering the entire wet paper on the smoothsurface belt held tightly together with the smooth surface belt, and adrive motor for propelling and driving this covering belt.

(8) The covering belt is formed of a mesh belt composed of numeral meshcells for passing and releasing the moisture heated and evaporated fromthe wet paper on the smooth surface belt to the upper side.

(9) The mesh of the mesh belt is set at 12 to 40 mesh cells.

(10) The running speed of the mesh belt is controlled to be synchronizedwith the running speed of the smooth surface belt in the drying processunit.

(11) The mesh belt is made of the mesh belt for composing the papermaking net conveyor of the paper making belt unit, the mesh belt isdisposed and configured to run straightly toward the running directionin the paper making belt conveyor unit, and run by returning in theopposite direction in the drying belt conveyor unit.

The paper making device of the used paper recycling apparatus of thepresent invention is a paper making device for composing a used paperrecycling apparatus of furniture size to be installed at the site oforigin of used paper, being a paper making device for manufacturingrecycled paper by making from used paper pulp manufactured in aproceeding process of a pulp making device, comprising a paper makingbelt conveyor unit for producing wet paper by making from a slurry-likepulp suspension mixing water and used paper pulp sent from the pulpmaking device, a drying belt conveyor unit for producing recycled paperby drying the wet paper made and formed in this paper making beltconveyor unit, and a dewatering roll unit for squeezing and dewateringthe wet paper at the linkage position of the paper making belt conveyorunit and the drying belt conveyor unit, in which the drying beltconveyor unit includes recycled paper smoothing means for processing anddischarging the wet paper made and formed in the paper making beltconveyor unit as smooth recycled paper, and this recycled papersmoothing means is composed of the recycled paper smoothing device.

The used paper recycling apparatus of the present invention includes, inan apparatus case of furniture size, a pulp making unit formanufacturing used paper pulp by macerating and beating used paper, apaper making unit for manufacturing recycled paper by making from theused paper pulp manufactured in this pulp making unit, and a controlunit for driving and controlling the pulp making unit and the papermaking unit by interlock, and the paper making unit is composed of thepaper making device.

(A) The recycled paper smoothing device of the used paper recyclingapparatus of the present invention composes a drying belt conveyor unitin the drying belt conveyor unit for forming a paper making unit formanufacturing recycled paper by making from used paper pulp manufacturedin a proceeding process of pulp making unit, this drying belt conveyorunit is composed by comprising a smooth surface belt for conveying anddriving the wet paper, and belt guide means for driving and guiding thesmooth surface belt in a state curved upward toward the runningdirection, while sliding and supporting the smooth surface belt from thelower side, and therefore the wet paper on the smooth surface beltconveyed by the smooth surface belt is provided with a tension uniformlyat least in the conveying and running direction, by the running actionof the smooth surface belt, and the curved shape of the smooth surfacebelt by the belt guide means, and hence in a very narrow used paperprocessing space of a used paper recycling apparatus of furniture sizeto be installed not only in a large office, but also in a small shop,general household, or in other indoor place, the wet paper made andformed in the paper making process unit can be regenerated as a smoothand wrinkle-free recycled paper.

That is, the wet paper made and formed in the paper making belt conveyorunit (paper making process unit) for producing wet paper by making fromthe used paper is sent to a drying belt conveyor unit for composing thesuccessive drying process unit, and is heated and dried while beingconveyed on a smooth surface belt, and the wet paper on the smoothsurface belt processed by running operation of the smooth surface beltand the curved shape of the smooth surface belt by the belt guide means,and is uniformly given a tension at least in the conveying and runningdirection.

Therefore, the wet paper on the smooth surface belt is effectivelydeprived of wrinkles or warp caused in the proceeding process of thepaper making process, and occurrence of wrinkles or warp of wet paperdue to heating and drying action can be effectively prevented, and asmooth recycled paper is produced on the whole.

(B) Further, having pressing means for pressing the entire wet paperconveyed on the smooth surface belt with a uniform pressure from theupper side, this pressing means is formed as a covering belt conveyorhaving a covering belt for running with covering the entire wet paper onthe smooth surface belt together with the smooth surface belt in anenclosed state, and the covering belt has its lower side cooperatingwith the upper side of the smooth surface belt so as to smooth andprocess the entire wet paper, thereby forming a flat smoothing actionsurface for smoothing the entire wet paper, and the wet paper on thesmooth surface belt is smoothed by the running operation of the smoothsurface belt mentioned above, and the curved shape of the smooth surfacebelt by the belt guide means, and is covered and pressed by the coveringbelt conveyor from the upper side, and it is heated and dried, beingheld in a sandwich state, with a uniform pressure from upper and lowerside, so that smoothing of the entire recycled paper is furtherpromoted.

In other words, the wet paper is processed by a cooperative action by atension uniformly applied in the conveying and running direction and asandwich structure with a specified pressure by the smooth surface beltand the covering belt, and is heated and dried while kept in a flatstate, and therefore wrinkles and warp of the wet paper caused in theproceeding process of paper making process can be effectively removed,and occurrence of wrinkles or warp of wet paper due to heating anddrying action can be effectively prevented, so that a very smoothwrinkle-free recycled paper can be securely produced in a very narrowused paper processing space of furniture size.

The covering belt of the covering belt conveyor is formed of a mesh beltcomposed of numerous mesh cells capable of passing and releasing themoisture heated and evaporated from the wet paper on the smooth surfacebelt to the upper side, and regardless of the presence or absence of thecovering belt, the steam generated by heating of the wet paper may beeffectively lifted and dissipated, and the heating process can besmoothly promoted.

Further, the running speed of the mesh belt for composing the coveringbelt is controlled in synchronism with the running speed of the smoothsurface belt in the drying process unit, so that the wet paper is heatedand dried while being stably maintained in a sandwich structure.

These and other objects and features of the present invention will beappreciated by reading the detailed description made in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings, and novel facts pointed out in the claimsthereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front sectional view showing an entire outline configurationof a used paper recycling apparatus in preferred embodiment 1 of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing an entire outline configurationof the used paper recycling apparatus of the same.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of a used paper pulpcirculation route of a beating unit of the used paper recyclingapparatus of the same.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a pulpconcentration adjustment unit of the used paper recycling apparatus ofthe same.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an entire outline configuration ofa paper making unit of the used paper recycling apparatus of the same.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a recycled papersmoothing process unit in the paper making unit of the same, FIG. 6Abeing a front view, and FIG. 6B being a sectional view along line B-B inFIG. 6A.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an appearance configuration of theused paper recycling apparatus of the same.

FIG. 8 is a front sectional view showing an entire outline configurationof a used paper recycling apparatus in preferred embodiment 2 of thepresent invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an entire outline configuration ofa paper making unit of the used paper recycling apparatus of the same.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration of a recycled papersmoothing process unit in the paper making unit of the same, FIG. 10Abeing a front view, and FIG. 10B being a sectional view along line B-Bin FIG. 10A.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view corresponding to FIG. 10B, showing aconfiguration of a recycled paper smoothing process unit in a papermaking unit of a used paper recycling apparatus in preferred embodiment3 of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing an overall outline configurationof a paper making unit of a used paper recycling apparatus in preferredembodiment 4 of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are describedspecifically below while referring to the accompanying drawings.Throughout the drawings, same reference numerals refer to same orsimilar constituent components or elements.

Embodiment 1

A used paper recycling apparatus of the present invention is shown inFIGS. 1 to 7, and this used paper recycling apparatus 1 is specificallyinstalled at the site of origin of used paper, and is an apparatus forregenerating into a reusable paper at the same site, without disposingor discarding the used paper UP, and the used paper UP includesconfidential documents from government offices and general corporateoffices, personal letters from general household, and other used andunnecessary documents.

The used paper recycling apparatus 1 is as small as furniture size shownin FIG. 7, that is, small and compact similar to document rack, locker,desk, copier, personal computer, and other equipment installed in anoffice, and includes, as shown in FIG. 1, main units, specifically apulp making unit 2, a pulp concentration adjustment unit 3, a papermaking unit (paper making device) 4, and a device control unit (controlunit) 5, and the paper making unit 4 includes a recycled paper smoothingprocess unit (recycled paper smoothing device, recycled paper smoothingmeans) 10 which is a feature mechanism of the present invention.

These apparatus components 2 to 5 are compact in design to beincorporated and installed in an apparatus case 6. This apparatus case 6is a furniture size as mentioned above, and the specific shape and sizemay be designed appropriately depending on the purpose or application.The apparatus case 6 of the illustrated preferred embodiment is formedlike a box of shape and size similar to a copier installed and used inan office, and the top plate of the apparatus case 6 is provided with aninlet port 7 opening and closing for putting in used paper UP, an theside part is provided with an outlet port 8 for discharging recycledpaper RP, RP, . . . At the lower edge position of this outlet port 8, arecycled paper receiving tray 9 is detachably provided for receiving therecycled paper RP, RP, . . . discharged from the outlet port 8.

The pulp making unit 2 is a process unit for manufacturing used paperpulp by macerating and beating the used paper UP, and consists of amacerating unit 20 for agitating, crushing, and macerating the usedpaper UP, and a beating unit 21 for beating the used paper UP maceratedin this macerating unit 20.

The macerating unit 20 is a process unit for agitating, crushing, andmacerating the used paper UP, and mainly consists of a macerating tank25, an agitating device 26, and a water feed device 27.

The macerating tank 25 is, as shown in FIG. 2, provided with the inletport 7 for feeding and supplying the used paper UP in its ceiling wall,and its bottom wall is provided with a discharge port 28 for dischargingthe macerated used paper pulp UPP to the downstream side. The innervolume of the macerating tank 25 is set depending on the number of usedpaper UP to be agitated and processed in batch. In the illustratedpreferred embodiment, the macerating tank 25 has a capacity of agitatingand processing (in batch process) about 500 sheets (about 2000 g) ofused paper UP of A4 format PPC (plain paper copier) by adding about 98liters of water. In this case, the concentration of the used paper pulpUPP to be macerated is about 2%. This concentration adjustment isconducted by water supplied from the water feed device 27, and thiswater feed device 27 forms a part of the pulp concentration adjustmentunit 3 as described below.

The inlet port 7 is designed to be opened and closed with respect to theoutside of the case cover 6 a of apparatus case 6. The discharge port 28is opened and closed by a switch valve 29, and is connected to a usedpaper circulation route 49 mentioned below. The position of thedischarge port 28 is provided with a debris filter 30 for removingdebris harmful for the subsequent process of the beating process, suchas clips, staples, and others binding the used paper UP, UP, . . .

The switch valve 29 is opened and closed specifically by crank motion ofa crank mechanism 36 by a driving motor 35. The driving motor 35 isspecifically an electric motor, and this driving motor 35 iselectrically connected to the device control unit 5.

An agitating device 26 is provided inside of the macerating tank 25, andincludes an agitating impeller 40 and a driving motor 41.

The agitating impeller 40 has its rotation shaft 40 a rotatablysupported in an upright position in the bottom center of the maceratingtank 25, and the lower end of the rotation shaft 40 a is driven andcoupled to a rotation shaft 41 a of the driving motor 41 by way oftransmission means 42 composed of a transmission pulley 42 a, atransmission belt 42 b, and a transmission pulley 42 c.

The water feed device 27 is to supply water W into the macerating tank25, and composes a beating concentration adjustment unit 3A of the pulpconcentration adjustment unit 3 as described below.

The water feed device 27 of the illustrated preferred embodimentincludes, as shown in FIG. 1, a white water collection tank 45, a waterfeed pump 46 for beating concentration adjustment, and a water feed pump47 for paper making concentration adjustment. The white water collectiontank 45 is, as described below, designed to collect white water Wfiltered and dewatered in the paper making unit 4 (that is, pulp waterof ultra-low concentration filtered by the paper making mesh in thepaper making process), and the white water W collected in the whitewater collection tank 45 is supplied into the macerating tank 25 throughthe water feed pump 46, and into a concentration adjustment tank 85through the water feed pump 47 mentioned below.

In this relation, in the bottom of the macerating tank 25, a weightsensor 48 is provided, and the used paper UP, UP, . . . and the amountof water processed in batch in the macerating tank 25 are weighed andcontrolled, and the weight sensor 48 is electrically connected to thedevice control unit 5.

The weight sensor 48 of the illustrated preferred embodiment is composedof a load cell, and is designed to sense and measure the total weight ofthe used paper UP, UP, . . . and the water charged and supplied in themacerating tank 25.

In a specific control configuration of the macerating unit 20, first theoperator opens the inlet port 7, and charges used paper UP, UP, . . .into the macerating tank 25, and its weight is sensed and measured bythe weight sensor 48, and when reaching the specified weight (number ofsheets), it is noticed to the operator by sound and/or display.Corresponding to this display, the operator closes the inlet port 7, andthe water feed device 27 is driven, and the feed water pump 46 suppliesthe water W in the white water collection tank 45 into the maceratingtank 25 by the amount corresponding to the charged weight (number ofsheets) of the used paper UP, UP, . . .

When the operator closes the inlet port 7 after feeding an arbitraryamount (smaller than the specified weight (number of sheets)) of usedpaper UP, UP, . . . into the macerating tank 25 from the inlet port 7,the weight is sensed and measured by the weight sensor 48, and the waterfeed device 27 is driven, and a proper amount of water W correspondingto the result of measurement is supplied into the macerating tank 25from the white water collection tank 45.

In the illustrated preferred embodiment, as mentioned above, when amaximum of about 500 sheets (about 2000 g) of A4 format PPC used paperUP is charged into the macerating tank 25, at this moment, it is noticedto the operator by sound and/or display, and by the closing action ofthe inlet port 7, about 98 liters of water is supplied from the waterfeed device 27, or when an arbitrary amount (smaller than the specifiedweight (number of sheets)) of used paper UP, UP, . . . is supplied, aproper amount of water corresponding to the supplied amount of the usedpaper is added from the water feed device 27, and the concentration ofthe used paper pulp UPP to be macerated is controlled and adjusted to beabout 2%.

In the agitating device 26, the used paper UP, UP, . . . charged intothe macerating tank 25 from the supply opening of the apparatus case 6,that is, the inlet port 7, are operated by normal and reverse rotationof the agitating impeller 40 by the driving motor 41, and agitated andmixed for a specified time (10 to 20 minutes in the illustratedpreferred embodiment) in the water supplied from the water feed device27, so that the used paper UP, UP, are macerated and beaten, and usedpaper pulp UPP is obtained.

The discharge port 28 of the macerating tank 25 is closed by the switchvalve 29 during operation of the macerating unit 20, and flow of usedpaper UP or used paper pulp UPP from the macerating tank 25 into theused paper pulp circulation route 49 is prevented, and the dischargeport 28 is opened by the switch valve 49 during operation of the beatingunit 21 described below, and the flow of used paper pulp UPP from themacerating tank 25 into the used paper pulp circulation route 49 and thecirculation flow are allowed.

The beating unit 21 is a process unit for beating the used paper UPmacerated in the macerating unit 20, and specifically the used paper UPmacerated in the macerating unit 20 is pressurized and beaten, and theinks for forming characters and patterns on the used paper UP (printingink forming characters and patterns on the used paper UP by variousprinting technologies, characters and patterns formed on the used paperUP by pencil, ball-point pen, fountain pen, or the like, and other inks)are ground and pulverized (to be micro-fibers)

The beating unit 21 has a grinder 50 as a principal component. Thisgrinder 50 mainly includes a pair of beating disks 51, 52 rotated anddriven relatively, and the pair of beating disks 51, 52 are disposedoppositely and concentrically across a tiny beating gap G betweenbeating action faces 51 a, 52 a.

The beating gap G of the beating action faces 51 a, 52 a of the grinder50 is set to be narrower gradually from the grinder 50 for initialperiod to the grinder 50 for terminal period of the beating process, asdescribed below.

In the beating unit 21 of the present preferred embodiment, as shown inFIG. 3, the used paper pulp circulation route 49 comprising one grinder50 is formed, and the used paper UP is beaten and processed while beingcirculated for a specified time by way of the grinder 50 in acirculation system.

By the execution of the beating process by the used paper pulpcirculation route 49, in spite of a very small and narrow process spaceof the apparatus case 6 of furniture size, a used paper pulp beatingprocess route of limitless length basically not limited in length, abeating process space practically equal to the beating process in alarge-scale plant can be assured, and an optimum beating effect can beobtained depending on the purpose.

In relation to one grinder 50 for executing the beating processthroughout the whole process of the beating process, this one grinder 50plays the function of a plurality of grinders from the grinder forinitial period to the grinder for terminal period of the beatingprocess. Specifically, the beating gap G of the beating action faces 51a, 52 a of this grinder 50 is controlled and adjusted to be narrowergradually from the initial period to the terminal period of the beatingprocess.

The grinder 50 of the illustrated preferred embodiment as shown in FIG.2 is installed adjacently to the macerating tank 25 of the maceratingunit 20, in an apparatus machine body 54 for composing the apparatuscase 6, and as shown in FIG. 3, it includes a beating tank 55communicating with the macerating tank 25 of the macerating unit 20, thepair of beating disks 51, 52 rotatably provided relatively in thisbeating tank 55, a rotation drive source 56 for rotating the pair ofbeating disks 51, 52 relatively, and gap adjusting means 57 foradjusting the beating gap G of the pair of beating disks 51, 52.

The beating tank 55 is formed in a closed cylindrical shape capable ofaccommodating the pair of beating disks 51, 52, and has a supply port 55a for supplying the used paper pulp UPP from the upstream side, and adischarge port 55 b for discharging the beaten used paper pulp UPP tothe downstream side.

Specifically, the supply port 55 a is opened toward the verticaldirection in the center of the bottom of the beating tank 55, and thedischarge port 55 b opened toward the horizontal direction at thecylindrical side of the beating tank 55. The supply port 55 a and thedischarge port 55 b are connected, as shown in FIG. 3, to communicatewith the macerating tank 25 of the macerating unit 20, respectively byway of circulation pipings 49 a, 49 b, and the discharge port 55 bfurther communicates with a used paper pulp collection tank 60 by way ofa discharge piping 59.

Reference numeral 61 is a direction changeover valve, and by theswitching action of this direction changeover valve 61, the used paperpulp UPP discharged from the discharge port 55 b is selectively returnedto the macerating tank 25, or collected in the used paper pulpcollection tank 60. The direction changeover valve 61 is specifically anelectromagnetic valve, and it is electrically connected to the devicecontrol unit 5.

One of the pair of beating disks 51, 52 is a fixed side beating diskfixed and provided in the rotating direction, and the other is arotating side beating disk capable of rotating. In the illustratedpreferred embodiment, the upper side beating disk 51 is the rotatingside, and the lower side beating disk 52 is the fixed side, and withrespect to the lower side fixed side beating disk 52, the upper siderotating side beating disk 51 is disposed oppositely concentrically androtatably across a tiny beating gap G. This rotating side beating disk51 is coupled and driven to a driving motor 56 by way of a rotation mainshaft 64 supported rotatably at the fixed side of the apparatus machinebody 54 and movably in the axial direction.

The rotation main shaft 64 is rotatably supported on an elevating memberof the gap adjusting means 57 although not shown specifically, and therotating side beating disk 51 is fitted to its leading endconcentrically and integrally, and its base end part is driven andcoupled to the rotation shaft of the driving motor 56 integrally in therotating direction, and relatively movably in the axial direction.

The driving motor 56 is a rotation drive source, and it relativelyrotates the pair of beating disks 51, 52, and an electric motor is usedspecifically, and this driving motor 56 as the drive source iselectrically connected to the device control unit 5.

Opposite faces 51 a, 52 a of the both beating disks 51, 52 forming thetiny beating gap G cooperate with each other, and form beating actionfaces. These opposite beating action faces 51 a, 52 a are grinding wheelsurfaces formed of multiple abrasive grains bonded by a bondingmaterial. The both beating action faces 51 a, 52 a are formed in a tapershape, as shown in FIG. 3, so that the diameter dimension may be largercontinuously in the mutually opposite directions, and the outermostperipheral edges are mutually parallel annular flat surfaces, and theseannular flat surfaces form the beating gap G.

In other words, in the pair of beating disks 51, 52, at the centralposition of the beating action face 52 a of the fixed side beating disk52, an inlet 70 is formed so as to communicate coaxially with the supplyport 55 a of the beating tank, and two annular flat surfaces formed onthe outer peripheral edges of the beating action faces 51 a, 52 a of thepair of beating disks 51, 52 communicate with the discharge port 55 b ofthe beating tank 55, and form a outlet 71 having the beating gap G.

On the outer circumference of the rotating side beating disk 51, aplurality of blades 72, 72, . . . are provided at specified intervals inthe circumferential direction, and these blades 72, 72, . . . arerotated by the rotating side beating disk 51, and the used paper pulpUPP discharged from the outlet 71 is forced out by pumping action towardthe discharge port 55 b of the beating tank 55 by a centrifugal force.

In this way, by the driving motor 56 as the drive source, when therotating side beating disk 51 is rotated and driven with respect to thefixed side beating disk 52, the used paper pulp UPP supplied in thebeating space B from the macerating tank 25 of the macerating unit 20 byway of the supply port 55 a and the inlet 70 of the beating tank 55flows into the beating space B from the inlet 70, and passes throughthis beating space B, and is pressurized and beaten by the relativelyrotating beating action faces 51 a, 52 a, and the inks formingcharacters and patterns on the used paper UP are ground and pulverized,and the used paper UP is discharged through the discharge port 55 b ofthe beating tank 55 from the outlet 71.

When being discharged from the outlet 71, the used paper pulp UPPfurther receives the pressurizing and beating actions at the location ofthe outlet 71 having the beating gap G, and is pulverized to a micronsize (to be micro fibers) specified by the beating gap G.

In this regard, in the present preferred embodiment, as mentioned above,since the used paper pulp circulation route 49 is provided with thecirculation beating process (see FIG. 3) having one grinder 50, that is, the one grinder 50 functions as a plurality of grinders from thegrinder for initial period to the grinder for terminal period of thebeating process, and the beating gap G of this grinder 50 is controlledand adjusted so as to be gradually narrower from the initial period tothe terminal period of the beating process by the gap adjusting means57.

The gap adjusting means 57 is composed to control and adjust the beatinggap G of the beating disks 51, 52, although not shown specifically, bymoving the pair of beating disks 51, 52 relatively in the rotation axialdirection, and is mainly composed of moving means (not shown) for movingthe rotating side beating disk 51 in the rotation axial direction, thatis, in the axial direction of the rotation main shaft 64, and a drivesource 66 for driving this moving means. The drive source isspecifically an electric motor, and this driving motor 66 iselectrically connected to the apparatus control unit 5.

By rotation of this electric motor 66, the rotation main shaft 64 ismoved up and down by way of the moving means, and the rotating sidebeating disk 51 integral with the rotation main shaft 64 is moved in thevertical direction to the fixed side beating disk 52, that is, in therotation axial direction, and the beating gap G of the both beatingdisks 51, 52 is controlled and adjusted.

For this purpose, a position detection sensor (not shown) is providedfor detecting the elevating position of the rotating side beating disk51, and by the detection result of the position detection sensor, thedriving motor 66 is controlled and driven. The position detection sensoris electrically connected to the device control unit 5.

The beating gap G of the beating disks 51, 52 by the gap adjusting means57 is controlled and adjusted in mutual cooperation with a circulationpump 69 as circulation means, in the circulation beating process in theused paper pulp circulation route 49 shown in FIG. 3.

That is, in FIG. 3, the used paper pulp UPP macerated and processed inthe macerating unit 20 is circulated in the used paper circulation route49 by means of the circulation pump 69, and the beating process isexecuted by the grinder 50, and at this time the beating gap G of thebeating action faces 51 a, 52 a of the grinder 50 is adjusted to benarrower gradually from the initial period to the terminal period of thebeating process by the gap adjusting means 57.

In this manner, one grinder 50 is disposed in the used paper pulpcirculation route 49, and the beating gap G of this grinder 50 iscontrolled and adjusted to be narrower gradually from the initial periodto the terminal period of the beating process in the circulation system,and therefore in a very narrow process space of furniture size, the usedpaper pulp UPP is repeatedly and sequentially processed by thepressurizing and beating action and the ink grinding and pulverizingaction by the beating action faces 51 a, 52 a of grinder 50 becominggradually narrower in the beating gap G, and further the beating and theink grinding and pulverizing actions are executed uniformly on theentire used paper pulp UPP circulating in the used paper pulpcirculation route 49. As a result, an optimum paper tenacity is obtainedfor the recycled paper RP made and regenerated in the paper making unit4 described below, and the recycled paper RP of high degree of whiteness(equal to de-inked quality) will be obtained.

The used paper pulp circulation route 49 includes the macerating tank 25of the macerating unit 20, and in this relation, in the beating process,the agitating device 26 of the macerating unit 20 is driven andcontrolled, and the macerating unit 20 and the beating unit 21 aredrived at the same time. That is, in the circulation type beatingprocess, while the used paper pulp UPP flows out from the maceratingtank 25 into the used paper pulp circulation route 49, the used paperpulp UPP after beaten by the grinder 50 flows into the macerating tank25, and therefore in the macerating tank 25, the used paper pulp UPPdifferent in the beating degree is mixed, and by the agitating action bythe agitating device 26, the beating degree of the used paper pulp UPPin the macerating tank 25 is made uniform, and the beating process ispromoted.

The used paper pulp collection tank 60 is a location for collecting theused paper pulp UPP beaten and pulverized to a specified size by thebeating unit 21, and the used paper pulp UPP collected herein is sentinto the pulp concentration adjustment unit 3 to be processed into apulp suspension PS mixed and adjusted to a paper making concentrationcorresponding to the finished paper quality of the recycled paper RP tobe regenerated before being sent into the paper making unit 4 of thenext process of paper making process.

The pulp concentration adjustment unit 3 is a weight type device foradjusting the mixing rate of the used paper UP and the water W to becharged into the apparatus, and adjusting the concentration of the usedpaper pulp UPP to be supplied in the paper making unit 4, andspecifically as shown in FIG. 4, it includes a beating concentrationadjustment unit 3A, a paper making concentration adjustment unit 3B, anda pulp concentration control unit 3C,

The beating concentration adjustment unit 3A is intended to adjust thebeating concentration of the used paper pulp UPP in the pulp making unit2, corresponding to the beating efficiency by the beating unit 21, andmainly includes the water feed pump 46 for beating concentrationadjustment of the water feed device 27, as mentioned above, and abeating concentration control unit 75.

The supply amount of white water W by the water feed pump 46 of thebeating concentration adjustment unit 3A is preferably set so that thebeating concentration of the used paper pulp UPP macerated and beaten bythe agitating device 26 may be the maximum concentration allowable forthe beating capacity of the grinder 50 of the beating unit 21 forexecuting the next process of beating process, and in the illustratedpreferred embodiment, it is set to be a beating concentration of about2% as mentioned above.

The beating concentration control unit 75 drives and controls, asmentioned above, the water feed pump 46 so as to supply a necessaryamount of water W into the macerating tank 25, depending on themeasurement result from the weight sensor 48. This beating concentrationcontrol unit 75 forms a part of the device control unit 5 as describedbelow.

The paper making concentration adjustment unit 3B is for adjusting thepaper making concentration of the used paper pulp UPP in the papermaking unit 4 to an appropriate concentration corresponding to thefinished paper quality of the recycled paper RP for regenerating, and isspecifically designed to adjust the concentration of the used paper pulpUPP manufactured in the pulp making unit 2 in division type, and itmainly includes a division extraction unit 80, a suspension adjustmentunit 81, and a paper making concentration control unit 82.

The division extraction unit 80 is for dividing and extracting aspecified small amount from the whole volume of the used paper pulp UPPmanufactured in the pulp making unit 2 in the proceeding process, andincludes a used paper pulp supply pump 86 for division extraction forextracting the used paper pulp UPP of the used paper pulp collectiontank 60 and sending into a concentration adjustment tank 85.

The suspension adjustment unit 81 is for preparing the pulp suspensionPS of a specified concentration by adding a specified amount of water Wfor concentration adjustment to a specified small amount of used paperpulp UPP divided and extracted by the division extraction unit 80, andmainly includes the water feed pump 47 of the water feed device 27 asmentioned above.

Specifically, although not shown in the drawing, in the bottom of theconcentration adjustment tank 85, same as in the macerating tank 25stated above, a weight sensor 87 formed of a load cell is provided, andit is designed to measure and control the amount of used paper pulp UPPand water W for concentration adjustment supplied into the concentrationadjustment tank 85, and the weight sensor 87 is connected electricallyto the device control unit 5.

The paper making concentration control unit 82 is for controlling byinterlocking the division extraction unit 80 and the suspensionadjustment unit 81, and forms a part of the device control unit 5, andinterlocks and controls pumps 86, 47 of the division extraction unit 80and the suspension adjustment unit 81 so as to execute the paper makingconcentration adjustment process as described below.

First of all, from the whole volume of used paper pulp UPP collected inthe used paper pulp collection tank 60 from the beating unit 21 (in theillustrated preferred embodiment, about 2000 g of used paper UP+100liters of water W), a specified portion (1 liter in the illustratedpreferred embodiment) of used paper pulp UPP is divided by the usedpaper pulp feed pump 86, and is transferred and contained in theconcentration adjustment tank 85. As a result, the weight is sensed andmeasured by the weight sensor 87, and the result is transmitted to thedevice control unit 5.

In succession, corresponding to the specified portion of the dividedused paper pulp UPP, the water feed pump 47 supplies a specified amountof water W for dilution into the concentration adjustment tank 85 fromthe white water collection tank 45 (9 liters in the illustratedpreferred embodiment (actually as measured by the weight sensor 87)).

In consequence, in the concentration adjustment tank 85, the used paperpulp UPP of beating concentration (2% in the illustrated preferredembodiment) and the water W are mixed and diluted, and pulp suspensionPS of specified concentration (in the illustrated preferred embodiment,about 0.2% concentration (target concentration)) is prepared.

Meanwhile, the target concentration of the pulp suspension PS to beprepared is set in consideration of the paper making capacity in thepaper making unit 4 as described below on the basis of the preliminaryexperiment, and it is set at about 0.2% as mentioned above in the caseof the illustrated preferred embodiment.

In this manner, the pulp suspension PS adjusted to the targetconcentration of paper making concentration (0.2%) in the concentrationadjustment tank 85 is transferred and supplied into a pulp supply tank89 from the concentration adjustment tank 85 by way of a firstsuspension supply pump 88, and is temporarily stored in wait for thenext process of the paper making unit 4. Hereinafter, this paper makingconcentration adjustment process is repeatedly executed similarly forthe whole amount of the used paper pulp UPP in the used paper pulpcollection tank 60. In the pulp supply tank 89, a second suspensionsupply pump 90 is provided for sending the pulp suspension PS to a papermaking belt conveyor unit 95 of the paper making unit 4.

An agitating device 91 is provided in the pulp supply tank 89, and bythe agitating action of this agitating device 87 (91?), the entire papermaking concentration of the temporarily stored pulp suspension PS ismaintained uniformly at a specific value.

Thus, since the concentration adjustment by the paper makingconcentration adjustment unit 3 is not executed in batch of wholevolume, but in small divided portions or dispensed portions, not onlythe water consumption is saved substantially, but also the shape andsize of the concentration adjustment tank 85 can be reducedsubstantially, and the entire structure of the used paper recyclingapparatus 1 is realized in a compact design.

The pulp concentration control unit 3C is to drive and control thebeating concentration adjustment unit 3A and the paper makingconcentration adjustment unit 3B in cooperation, and specifically byreceiving the pulp concentration control information (the charged amountof used paper UP, water supply amount to the macerating tank 25, beatingconcentration of used paper pulp UPP, and others) from the beatingconcentration control unit 75 of the beating concentration adjustmentunit 3A, depending on this control information, the paper makingconcentration control information (the target paper making concentrationof the used paper pulp UPP, the division extraction amount of the usedpaper pulp UPP from the used paper pulp collection tank 60, the watersupply amount to the concentration adjustment tank 85, and others) forcontrolling the concentration of the used paper pulp UPP manufactured inthe pulp making unit 2 to the target value (paper making concentration)is sent to the paper making concentration control unit 82 of the papermaking concentration adjustment unit 3B, so that the paper makingconcentration adjustment process mentioned above can be executed.

The paper making unit 4 is a process unit for manufacturing recycledpaper RP by making from the used paper pulp UPP manufactured in the pulpmaking unit 2, and as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, it mainly includes apaper making belt conveyor unit 95, a dewatering roll unit 96, and adrying belt conveyor unit 97, and the drying belt conveyor unit 97 isprovided with the recycled paper smoothing process unit (recycled papersmoothing device, recycled paper smoothing means) 10 as a characteristiccomponent of the present invention as mentioned above.

The paper making belt conveyor unit 95 is a location for manufacturingwet paper by making from a slurry-like pulp suspension PS containingused paper pulp UPP mixed with water W sent from the pulp supply tank 89of the pulp making unit 2, and it mainly includes a paper making netconveyor 100, and a pulp supply unit 101.

The paper making net conveyor 100 is for conveying the pulp suspensionwhile making paper, and has a mesh belt 105 of paper making meshstructure composed of numerous mesh cells for filtering and dewateringthe pulp suspension PS disposed to run straightly toward its runningdirection.

Specifically, the paper making net conveyor 100 includes the mesh belt105 formed as an endless belt conveying and running while making paperfrom the pulp suspension PS, and a drive motor 106 for driving this meshbelt 105.

The plate material of the paper making mesh structure for composing themesh belt 105 is a material capable of filtering and dewatering the pulpsuspension PS appropriately through numerous mesh cells of the papermaking mesh structure, and preferable examples are polypropylene (PP),polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyamide (PA) (generally known asNylon, a registered trademark), stainless steel (SUS), and othercorrosion resistant materials, and in the illustrated preferredembodiment, a PET mesh belt 105 in heat resistance is used.

The paper making mesh structure for composing the mesh belt 105 ispreferably fine in mesh size, and fine and smooth in weaving mesh, andmay be specifically selected depending on the characteristic of thedesired paper, and for example, the following points are taken intoconsideration.

(1) Mesh Size of Mesh Belt 105

The mesh size of the mesh belt 105 is preferably set at 25 mesh cells to80 mesh cells, and in the illustrated preferred embodiment, the meshbelt 105 of 50 mesh cells is used.

(2) Wire Diameter of Mesh of Mesh Belt 105

The mesh of the mesh belt 105 is determined not only by the number ofmesh cells (size), but also by the wire diameter of the mesh. If thenumber of mesh cells is the same, the mesh size is smaller when the wirediameter is larger, or larger when the diameter is smaller, and thisrelation is expressed by the porosity of mesh, or the ventilation degreeof airiness (cm³/cm²/sec).

For example, when the mesh is fine and the ventilation is poor, thewater filtering rate is low, and the shape and dimension of the pulpsupply unit 101 described below may be longer in the running directionof the mesh belt 105, and the apparatus is increased in size. To thecontrary, when the mesh is coarse and the ventilation is good, the pulpsupply unit 101 is short and the apparatus is small, but the paperquality of the recycled paper RP is coarse, and the difference ofsmoothness of the face and back sides is larger, and the paper is poorin smoothness.

Considering these conditions comprehensively, the mesh belt 105 isdesired to be small in the wire diameter of mesh, large in the number ofmesh cells, and reticular in structure not lowering in the degree ofventilation, in order to present the used paper pulp UPP from slippingout of the mesh cells of the mesh belt 105 in the paper making process,and the mesh belt 105 in the illustrated preferred embodiment is aplain-woven PET mesh belt 105 of 50 mesh cells. By using this mesh belt105, it has been experimentally proved that a favorable paper qualitysuited to writing is obtained.

The width dimension of the mesh belt 105 is set at a specified widthdimension slightly larger than the width dimension of the recycled paperRP to be manufactured by making from the pulp suspension PS.

The mesh belt 105 is supported and suspended so as to be rotatable byway of a drive roller 107, a dewatering roll unit 96, a driven roller108, and a support roller 109 as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, and it isdriven and coupled to the drive motor 106 by way of the drive roller107.

The paper making process length in the mesh belt 105 is set in a rangeof the upper side running direction length of the mesh belt 105 in theapparatus case 6 of furniture size (in the shown case, the lateraldirection length from the pulp supply unit 101 to the dewatering rollunit 96 in FIG. 1).

The running speed of the mesh belt 105 is set in consideration of thevarious conditions in the paper making process, and it is preferably setat 0.1 m/min to 1 m/min, and in the illustrated preferred embodiment, itis set at 0.2 m/min Incidentally, in the conventional used paperrecycling plant of a large scale, the running speed of the paper makingbelt of this type was set at least at more than 100 m/min, or more than1000 m/min in a faster version.

The mesh belt 105 disposed so as to run upward obliquely and straightlytoward its running direction as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, and thepaper making process length is extended considerably in a limited spaceof installation, and the filtering and dewatering efficiency is enhancedin relation to the paper making mesh structure of the mesh belt 105.

The drive motor 106 for driving the mesh belt 105 is specifically anelectric motor, and is electrically connected to the device control unit5. This drive motor 106 is also used as the drive source of thedewatering roll unit 96 and the drying belt conveyor unit 97 describedbelow.

The pulp supply unit 101 is a location for supplying the pulp suspensionPS on the mesh belt 105 from the pulp making unit 2, and its specificstructure is not shown, but this pulp supply unit 101 supplies the pulpsuspension PS, and diffuses widely and uniformly on the upper surface ofthe mesh belt 105. The pulp supply unit 101 is provided at the papermaking process starting end position of the paper making net conveyor100.

By the second suspension supply pump 90, the pulp suspension PS suppliedin the pulp supply unit 101 from the pulp supply tank 89 is stored by aspecified amount in the pulp feed unit 101, and by the stagnant action,it is uniformly dispersed on the upper surface of the mesh belt 105. Thepulp suspension PS uniformly dispersed on the upper surface of the meshbelt 105 is conveyed together with the mesh belt 105 by the runningaction of the mesh belt 105 in the running direction, and is filtered bythe own weight by the mesh of the mesh belt 105, and is dewatered, andwet paper RP₀ (water content 90 to 85% in the illustrated preferredembodiment) is obtained.

The white paper W filtered and dewatered by the mesh belt 105 (the pulpwater of an ultra-low concentration filtered by the paper making mesh inthe paper making process) is collected in the white water collectiontank 45 of the water feed device 27 as mentioned above.

The dewatering roll unit 96 composes a location for squeezing anddewatering the wet paper RP₀ on the mesh belt 105 at the linkageposition of the paper making belt conveyor unit 95 mentioned above andthe drying belt conveyor unit 97 described below.

More specifically, the smooth surface belt 145 described below of thedrying belt conveyor unit 97 at the downstream side, and the mesh belt105 of the paper making belt conveyor unit 95 at the upstream side arestacked up in upper and lower layers as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, andthe upper and lower adjacent portions of the smooth surface belt 145 andthe mesh belt 105 are the linkage location, and at this linkagelocation, the dewatering roll unit 96 rolls and squeezes the mesh belt105 and the smooth surface belt 145 by squeezing from upper and lowersides, thereby dewatering.

The dewatering roll unit 96 includes at least a preliminary dewateringroll unit 96A, and a final dewatering roll unit 96B.

The illustrated dewatering roll unit 96 is, as specifically shown inFIG. 1, mainly composed of the preliminary dewatering roll unit 96A, thefinal dewatering roll unit 96B, and an angle defining roll unit 96C asauxiliary means.

The preliminary dewatering roll unit 96A is for squeezing and dewateringthe wet paper RP₀ on the mesh belt 105 preliminarily, and morespecifically it includes a preliminary squeezing roll pair 122consisting of a preliminary dewatering roll 120 for rolling on the meshbelt 105 from the lower side, and a preliminary press roll 121 forrolling and pressing on the smooth surface belt 145 from the upper sidein relation to this preliminary dewatering roll 120.

By the preliminary squeezing roll pair 122 consisting of the preliminarydewatering roll 120 and the preliminary press roll 121, the mesh belt105 and the smooth surface belt 145 are rolled and squeezed in a pressedform by a specified preliminary pressure from the upper and lower sides,and the moisture contained in the wet paper RP₀ on the mesh belt 105 ispreliminarily dewatered and removed.

In this case, the preliminary pressure, that is, the preliminarysqueezing force of the preliminary dewatering roll unit 96A forpreliminarily squeezing and dewatering the wet paper RP₀ on the meshbelt 105 is set in a range not to destroy the wet paper RP₀ having alarge water content, and in the illustrated preferred embodiment, thepreliminary squeezing force is set in a range so that the water contentof the wet paper on the mesh belt 105 may be 80 to 75% after thepreliminary dewatering process.

The final dewatering roll unit 96B is a location for finally squeezingand dewatering the wet paper RP₀ on the mesh belt 105 after preliminarydewatering in the preliminary dewatering roll unit 96A to obtain driedpaper (recycled paper) RP of a specified water content, and morespecifically includes at least one set of final squeezing roll pair 127consisting of a final dewatering roll 125 for rolling on the mesh belt105 from the lower side, and a final press roll 126 for rolling andpressing on the smooth surface belt 145 from the upper side in relationto this final dewatering roll 125.

By the final squeezing roll pair 127 consisting of the final dewateringroll 125 and the final press roll 126, the mesh belt 105 and the smoothsurface belt 145 are rolled and squeezed in a pressed form by aspecified final pressure from the upper and lower sides, and themoisture contained in the wet paper RP₀ on the mesh belt 105 is finallydewatered and removed, and a dried paper of specified water content,that is, a recycled paper RP is obtained.

In this case, the final pressure, that is, the final squeezing force ofthe final dewatering roll unit 96B for finally squeezing and dewateringthe wet paper RP₀ on the mesh belt 105 is set to such a degree as to becapable of obtaining a specified dewatering effect securely on thepreliminarily dewatered wet paper RP₀, and in the illustrated preferredembodiment, it is set in a range of water content of 70 to 85% in thedried paper (recycled paper) RP on the mesh belt 105 after finaldewatering.

The rolls 120, 121, 125, 126 in the dewatering roll unit 96 are notspecifically shown in the drawing, but are driven and coupled to asingle drive motor 106 by means of driving and coupling means composedof a gearing mechanism, and all rolls 120, 121, 125, 126 are rotated anddriven in mutual cooperation.

In this case, these rolls 120, 121, 125, 126 are rotated and controlledso that the outer circumference of the upper and lower rolls 120, 125,and the outer circumference of the rolls 121, 126 may mutually roll andcontact with each other and a slight rotating speed difference eachother, with respect to the contact, surface of the mesh belt 105 and thesmooth surface belt 145 (the lower side of the mesh belt 105 and theupper side of the smooth surface belt 145) being rolled and squeezed ina pressed state, between their outer circumferential surfaces.

More specifically, the rotating speed of the preliminary and final pressrolls 121,126 of the upper side is set slightly larger than the rotatingspeed of the preliminary and final press rolls 120,125 of the lowerside, and hence the running speed of the smooth surface belt 145 is setlightly larger than the running speed of the mesh belt 105. In thisconstitution, as described below, when the wet paper RP₀ squeezed anddewatered by the dewatering roll 96 is transferred and moved to thelower side of the smooth surface belt 145 of the upper side from theupper side of the mesh belt 105 of the lower side, a tension is appliedto the wet paper RP₀, and wrinkling of the wet paper RP₀ may beprevented effectively.

The angle defining roll unit (angle defining means) 96C is a locationfor assisting and validating the squeezing and dewatering action by thepreliminary dewatering roll unit 96A and the final dewatering roll unit96B, and it is provided at the upstream side of the preliminarydewatering roll unit 96A, and defines the inclination angle between themesh belt 105 and the smooth surface belt 145 inserted in thepreliminary dewatering roll unit 96A.

The angle defining roll unit 96C specifically defines the inclinationangle between the mesh belt 105 and the smooth surface belt 145 insertedin the preliminary dewatering roll unit 96A, and more specifically itincludes a mesh belt guide roll 130 for defining the insertion angle ofthe mesh belt 105 into the preliminary dewatering roll unit 96A byrolling on the mesh belt 105 from the lower side, and a smooth surfacebelt guide roll 131 for defining the insertion angle of the smoothsurface belt 145 into the preliminary dewatering roll unit 96A byrolling on the smooth surface belt 145 from upper side.

The insertion angle of the mesh belt 105 into the preliminary dewateringroll unit 96A is defined by the mesh belt guide roll 130, and theinsertion angle of the smooth surface belt 145 into the preliminarydewatering roll unit 96A is defined by the smooth surface belt guideroll 131, and therefore the inclination angle between the mesh belt 105and the smooth surface belt 145 is determined indirectly in a specifiedrange.

The inclination angle between the mesh belt 105 and the smooth surfacebelt 145 is set so as to prevent the wet paper RP₀ from becoming slurryagain by the preliminary dewatering action by the preliminary dewateringroll unit 96A, as the moisture contained in the wet paper RP₀ ismassively squeezed out to the upstream side of the preliminarydewatering roll unit 96A, and the large amount of water thus squeezed isabsorbed again in the wet paper RP₀.

In other words, by the preliminary dewatering roll 120 and thepreliminary press roll 121 of the preliminary dewatering roll unit 96A,when the mesh belt 105 mounting the wet paper RP₀ on the upper side andthe smooth surface belt 145 are rolled and squeezed in a pressed statefrom the upper and lower sides, the moisture contained in the wet paperRP₀ is squeezed out to the upstream side of the both rolls 120, 121.

In this case, if the inclination angle α formed between the mesh belt105 and the smooth surface belt 145 is large, at a position near theupstream side of the both rolls 120, 121, the smooth surface belt 145 ofthe upper side is departed from the wet paper RP₀ on the mesh belt 105at the lower side, and a part of the massive squeezed moisture containedin the wet paper RP₀ is absorbed again in the wet paper RP₀ and the wetpaper RP₀ may become slurry again.

By contrast, when the inclination angle a formed between the mesh belt105 and the smooth surface belt 145 is small, at a position near theupstream side of the both rolls 120, 121, the smooth surface belt 145 ofthe upper side is pressed to the wet paper RP₀ on the mesh belt 105 atthe lower side, and all of the massive squeezed moisture contained inthe wet paper RP₀ falls down through the mesh belt 105, and is notabsorbed again in the wet paper RP₀ and the wet paper RP₀ may beprevented from becoming slurry again.

The inclination angle a formed between the mesh belt 105 and the smoothsurface belt 145 is preferably set at 1 to 20 degrees as a result ofexperiments, and more preferably set at 3 to 7 degrees, and it is set at5 degrees in the illustrated preferred embodiment.

Thus, by driving of the drive motor 106, the rolls 120, 121, 125, 126 ofthe preliminary dewatering roll unit 96A and the final dewatering rollunit 96B in the dewatering roll unit 96 are put in rotation, and firstby the preliminary squeezing roll pair 122 in the preliminary dewateringroll unit 96A, the mesh belt 105 and the smooth surface belt 145 arerolled and squeezed in a pressed state from both upper and lower sideswith a specified preliminary pressure, and the moisture contained in thewet paper RP₀ on the mesh belt 105 is preliminarily dewatered andremoved (in the illustrated preferred embodiment, the water content ofthe wet paper RP₀ is reduced from 90 to 85% to 80 to 75%).

In succession, by the final squeezing roll pair 127 in the finaldewatering roll unit 96B, the mesh belt 105 and the smooth surface belt145 are rolled and squeezed in a pressed state from both upper and lowersides with a specified final pressure, and the moisture contained in thewet paper RP₀ on the mesh belt 105 is finally dewatered and removed, anddry paper of specified water content, that is, recycled paper RP isobtained (in the illustrated preferred embodiment, the water content ofthe wet paper RP₀ is reduced from 80 to 75% to 70 to 65%). In thisseries of processes, the white water W squeezed and dewatered from thewet paper RP₀ is collected in the white water collection tank 45 of thewater feed unit 27.

The wet paper RP₀ squeezed and dewatered in the dewatering roll unit 96is transferred and conveyed to the lower side of the smooth surface belt145 at the upper side from the upper side of the mesh belt 105 of thelower side at the downstream side location of the dewatering roll unit96, and is conveyed together with the smooth surface belt 145, and thedrying process by the drying belt conveyor unit 97 is executed.

This transfer action is considered to be caused by the smooth surfacestructure of the smooth surface belt 145. That is, the surface of themesh belt 105 at the lower side is a fine undulated surface formingmultiple fine continuous pores, while the surface of the smooth surfacebelt 145 at the upper side is a smooth surface without pores, and thewet paper RP₀ containing a slight moisture seems to be attracted by thesurface tension against the surface of the smooth surface belt 145.

The drying belt conveyor unit 97 is a location for obtaining recycledpaper RP by further heating and drying the dried paper RP squeezed anddewatered in the dewatering roll unit 96 after the paper making processin the paper making belt conveyor unit 95, and mainly includes a dryingconveyor 170, a heating and drying unit 171, and the recycled papersmoothing process unit (recycled paper smoothing device, recycled papersmoothing means) 10 mentioned above.

The drying conveyor 170 smoothes and conveys the wet paper RP₀ squeezedand dewatered in the dewatering roll unit 96, and mainly includes thesmooth surface belt 145, and the drive motor 106 for driving the smoothsurface belt 145.

The smooth surface belt 145 is for conveying the wet paper RP₀ whileheating and drying, and specifically it is an endless belt of platematerials of smooth surface structure having a specified width connectedand formed like a ring of a specified length. The plate material of thesmooth surface structure is any material capable of finishing the oneside surface of the wet paper RP₀ to a proper smoothness, andwithstanding the heating action by the heating and drying unit 171described below, and preferably fluoroplastic, stainless steel, or otherflexible heat-resistant material may be used, and a fluoroplastic beltis used in the illustrated preferred embodiment.

This smooth surface belt 145, as shown in FIG. 1, is rotatably suspendedand supported by way of a drive roller 176, a driven roller 177, thedewatering roll unit 96, and a driven roller 178, and is driven andcoupled to the drive motor 106 by way of the drive roller 176.

The drive motor 106 for driving the smooth surface belt 145, asdescribed above, is used commonly as the driving source of the papermaking net conveyor 100 and the dewatering roll unit 96.

The heating and drying unit 171 is a location for heating and drying thewet paper RP₀ transferred, rolled and conveyed on the smooth surfacebelt 145 from the mesh belt 105 of the paper making net conveyor 100,and specifically the smooth surface belt 145 for conveying andsupporting the lower side of the wet paper RP₀ is heated from the lowerside by a heater 180 disposed in an intermediate position of the runningroute thereof.

This heater 180 is a heater plate sliding and contacting with theopposite side of the conveying and supporting side of the wet paper RP₀on the smooth surface belt 145, and is provided in a horizontaldirection running portion in the running route of the smooth surfacebelt 145, and is provided in slide and contact with the opposite side ofthe upper side of the holding side of the wet paper RP₀ in the smoothsurface belt 145, that is, at the lower side. As a result, the wet paperRP₀ on the smooth surface belt 145 is heated indirectly and dried by thesmooth surface belt 145 heated by the heater plate 180.

The specific structure of the heater 180 in the illustrated preferredembodiment is shown in FIG. 6, and it is designed to function also asthe recycled paper smoothing processing unit 10.

That is, the recycled paper smoothing processing unit 10 of the presentpreferred embodiment mainly includes the smooth surface belt 145, and abelt guide unit (belt guide means) 200 for sliding and supporting thissmooth surface belt 145 from the lower side, and guiding the smoothsurface belt 145 in a running state being curved upward toward therunning direction, and the belt guide unit 200 is provided with theheater 180.

The belt guide unit 200 is composed as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6A,having a curved guide surface 200 a having a principal curved section,that is, a belt running direction section, curved upward toward therunning direction of the smooth surface belt 145, and this curved guidesurface 200 a is formed, as shown in FIG. 6B, in a horizontal straightform on the section contour vertical to the principal curved section,that is, on the section contour in the belt width direction.

More specifically, the belt guide unit 200 is a plate material curvedupward toward the running direction of the smooth surface belt 145, andhaving a horizontal and straight contour in the width direction, andthis component material has a sufficient strength and wear resistancefor sliding and supporting the smooth surface belt 145 from the lowerside, and in particular a material excellent in heat transfer propertyis preferred as a base material for the heater plate.

The belt guide unit 200 in the illustrated preferred embodiment is madeof a stainless steel plate (SUS), and is mounted and supported on theapparatus machine body 54 by means of support base plates 201, 201, andits upper surface is the curved guide surface 200 a. Although not shownspecifically in the drawing, the lower side 200 b of the belt guide unit200 is integrally provided with a flat heater of a thin plate, and it isformed as a heater plate of the heater 180.

This flat heater of a thin plate is specifically a known electricheater, and in particular a flexible flat heater such as silicone rubberheater is ideal because it can be tightly adhered to the profile of thelower side 200 b of the curved stainless steel plate.

On the curved guide surface 200 a of the belt guide unit 200 having suchconfiguration, the smooth surface belt 145 is slidably disposed with aspecified tension. As a result, the smooth surface belt 145 is guidedslidably on the curved guide surface 200 a of the belt guide unit 200 soas to run in an upward curved state (see FIG. 5 and FIG. 6A)

Consequently, the wet paper RP₀ squeezed and dewatered by the dewateringroll unit 96 is transferred and rolled to the lower side of the smoothsurface belt 145 of the upper side from the upper side of the mesh belt105 of the lower side, and the smooth surface belt 145 is inverted torun by way of the rollers 178, 176, and the wet paper RP₀ on the smoothsurface belt 145 conveyed by the smooth surface belt 145 is providedwith a tension uniformly in the conveying and running direction, bymeans of the running action of the smooth surface belt 145 and thecurved shape of the smooth surface belt 145 by the belt guide unit 200(180). As a result, the wet paper RP₀ on the smooth surface belt 145 iseffectively deprived of wrinkle and warp caused in the proceedingprocess of paper making process, and wrinkle and warp of the wet paperRP₀ caused by the heating and drying action by the heater plate 180 canbe effectively prevented, so that the wet paper RP₀ is regenerated as asmooth recycled paper (dry paper) RP on the whole.

At the downstream side of the heating and drying unit 171 on the smoothsurface belt 145, a stripping member 210 is provided, and the dry paperor the recycled paper RP (water content 10 to 7%) being dried andconveyed on the smooth surface belt 145 is sequentially stripped offfrom the holding side of the smooth surface belt 145.

In this relation, at the running route terminal end position of thesmooth surface belt 145 at the downstream side of the stripping member210, a fixed size cutter unit 211 is provided, and the recycled paper RPstripped from the smooth surface belt 145 is cut to a specified size (inthe illustrated preferred embodiment, an A4 size format), and isdischarged from the outlet port 8 of the apparatus case 6.

The device control unit 5 is to control the driving parts of the pulpmaking unit 2, the pulp concentration adjustment unit 3, and the papermaking unit 4 automatically by mutual cooperation, and is specificallycomposed of a microcomputer having CPU, ROM, RAM, and I/O port.

This device control unit 5 stores programs for executing the pulp makingprocess of the pulp making unit 2, the concentration adjustment processof the concentration adjustment unit 3, and the paper making process ofthe paper making unit 4 by mutual cooperation, and various items ofinformation necessary for driving of the component units 2 (20, 21), 3(3A, 3B), and 4 (95, 96, 97) are preliminarily entered as data throughkeyboard or other input means appropriately, including, for example, thedriving time and rotating speed of the agitating device 26 in themacerating unit 20, the water feed timing and the water feed amount ofthe water feed device 27, the driving time and the agitation amount ofthe circulation pump 69 in the beating unit 21, the driving time and therotating speed of the grinder 50, the adjustment timing and the beatinggap G adjustment amount of the gap adjusting means 57, the running speedof the conveyors 100, 170 in the paper making unit 4, the driving timeof the heating and drying unit 171, and the operation timing of thefixed size cutter unit 211.

The device control unit 5 electrically connected with the weight sensors48, 87, and the drive units 35, 41, 56, 61, 66, and 106 as mentionedabove, and the drive control unit 5 controls these drive units 35, 41,56, 61, 66, and 106, according to these measured values and controldata.

The used paper recycling apparatus 1 having such configuration isstarted when the power source is turned on, and the component units 2(20, 21), 3 (3A, 3B), and 4 (95, 96, 97) are controlled automatically bymutual cooperation, and the used paper UP, UP, . . . charged into theinlet port 7 of the apparatus case 6 are macerated and beaten by themacerating unit 20 and the beating unit 21 of the pulp making unit 2,and the used paper pulp UPP is manufactured, and the pulp suspension PSof paper making concentration is prepared in the pulp concentrationadjustment unit 3, and this pulp suspension PS is manufactured in thepaper making belt conveyor unit 95 of the paper making unit 4, thedewatering roll unit 96, and the drying belt conveyor unit 97, and isregenerated as recycled paper RP, and is discharged onto the recycledpaper receiving tray 9 from the outlet port 8 of the apparatus case 6.

In this case, the recycled paper smoothing unit 10 in the drying beltconveyor unit 97 in the paper making unit 4 includes the smooth surfacebelt 145 for conveying and moving the wet paper RP₀, and the belt guideunit 200 (180) for driving and guiding this smooth surface belt 145 in astate curved upward toward the running direction of the smooth surfacebelt 145 while sliding and supporting from the lower side, and hence thewet paper RP₀ on the smooth surface belt 145 conveyed by the smoothsurface belt 145 is provided with a tension uniformly in the conveyingand running direction by the running action of the smooth surface belt145 and the curved shape of the smooth surface belt 145 by the beltguide unit 200 (180), and therefore in a very narrow used paperprocessing space of the used paper recycling apparatus 1 of furnituresize to be installed not only in a large office but also in a small shopor a general household room, the wet paper RP₀ made and formed by thepaper making net conveyor 100 in the paper making process can besecurely regenerated as a smooth and wrinkle-free recycled paper RP.

The wet paper made and formed in the paper making belt conveyor unit(paper making process unit) 95 for obtaining wet paper RP₀ by makingfrom the used paper pulp UPP is sent into the drying belt conveyor unit97 for composing the successive drying process unit, and conveyed on thesmooth surface belt 145, and heated and dried, and the wet paper RP₀ onthe smooth surface belt 145 is provided with a tension uniformly atleast in the conveying and running direction by the running action ofthe smooth surface belt 145 and the curved shape of the smooth surfacebelt 145 by the belt guide unit 200 (180)

Therefore, the wet paper RP₀ on the smooth surface belt 145 iseffectively deprived of the wrinkle or the warp caused in the proceedingprocess of paper making process, and occurrence of wrinkle or warp ofwet paper RP₀ by the heating and drying action can be effectivelyprevented, and a smooth recycled paper RP is regenerated on the whole.

Embodiment 2

This preferred embodiment is shown in FIG. 8 to FIG. 10, in which theconfiguration of the recycled paper smoothing unit (recycled papersmoothing device, recycled paper smoothing means) 10 of preferredembodiment 1 is modified.

That is, the recycled paper smoothing unit 10 of this preferredembodiment includes a pressing unit (pressing means) 250 for pressingthe entire surface of the wet paper RP₀ conveyed by the smooth surfacebelt 145 with a uniform pressure from the upper side, in addition to theconfiguration of preferred embodiment 1.

This pressing unit 250 is composed in a form of a covering belt conveyorspecifically as shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10.

The covering belt conveyor 250 includes a covering belt 251 disposed andcomposed to run in a same horizontal direction in a state overlaid withthe smooth surface belt 145, and the drive motor 106 for driving thiscovering belt 251. This drive motor 106 is used commonly as the drivesource of the paper making net conveyor 100 and the dewatering roll unit96 as explained in preferred embodiment 1.

The covering belt 251 is an endless belt running while covering theentire wet paper RP₀ on the smooth surface belt 145 while tightlyholding together with the smooth surface belt 145, and its lower side,that is, the side covering the entire wet paper RP₀ together with thesmooth surface belt 145 cooperates with the upper side of the smoothsurface belt 145, and a flat smoothing action surface is formed forsmoothing the entire wet paper RP₀. The covering range of the wet paperRP₀ (recycled paper RP) by the covering belt 251 is set in a rangenearly opposite to the belt guide unit 200 (that is, the heater plate180) in the running route of the smooth surface belt 145.

The covering belt 251 is specifically a mesh belt, and has a ventilationmesh structure composed of numerous mesh cells for passing and releasingthe steam heated and evaporated from the wet paper RP₀.

The plate material of the ventilation mesh structure for composing themesh belt 251 is a material capable of passing and releasing themoisture heated and evaporated from the wet paper RP₀ on the smoothsurface belt 145 smoothly to the upper side from the numerous meshcells, and preferable, same as in the mesh belt 105 of the paper makingunit 4 mentioned above, desired examples are polypropylene (PP),polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyamide (PA) (generally known asNylon, a registered trademark), stainless steel (SUS), and othercorrosion resistant materials, and in the illustrated preferredembodiment, a PET mesh belt 251 excellent in heat resistance is used.

The ventilation mesh structure of the mesh belt 251 is preferred to befine in mesh size, and fine and smooth in weaving, and same as the meshbelt 105 of the paper making unit 4 described above, a specific materialis selected in consideration of the characteristic of the desired paper.

For example, the mesh size of the mesh belt 251 is set larger than inthe mesh belt 105 of the paper making unit 4 due to difference inpurpose, and it is preferably set at 12 mesh cells to 40 mesh cells(about 4 times of the mesh size of the mesh belt 105), and in theillustrated preferred embodiment, the mesh belt 251 of 25 mesh cells isused.

As far as the mesh belt 251 satisfies the requirements of heatresistance of withstanding high heat in the heating and drying process,and the ventilation for passing the steam heated and evaporated from thewet paper RP₀, strict design conditions as required in the mesh belt 105forming the core of the paper making unit 4 are not needed, but the meshbelt 251 in the illustrated preferred embodiment is a plain-wovenPET-made mesh belt of 25 mesh cells.

The width dimension of the mesh belt 251 is set same as the widthdimension of the smooth surface belt 145 as shown in FIG. 10B so as tooverlap with the smooth surface belt 145 and hold the wet paper RP₀ in asandwich state.

The mesh belt 251 is rotatably suspended and supported by way of a driveroller 255, and a driven roller 256, and the drive roller 255 is drivenand coupled to the drive motor 106.

The mesh belt 251 is slidably disposed on a curved guide surface 200 aof a belt guide unit 200 with a specified tension by way of the smoothsurface belt 145. As a result, in a state overlaid with the smoothsurface belt 145, the mesh belt 251 is guided slidably in a samedirection on the curved guide surface 200 a of the belt guide unit 200,and runs in an upward curved state (see FIG. 9 and FIG. 10A).

By such disposition and configuration of the mesh belt 251, the meshbelt 251 pressed the wet paper RP₀ on the smooth surface belt 145 with auniform pressure in the overall length of the covering range, andwithout causing warp or wrinkle in the wet paper RP₀ (recycled paperRP), the one-side surface of the wet paper RP₀ (recycled paper RP)contacting with the surface of the smooth surface belt 145 and theopposite-side surface are finished to an appropriate smooth surface.

After the wet paper RP₀ squeezed and dewatered by the dewatering rollunit 96 is transferred and roll on the lower side of the smooth surfacebelt 145 at the upper side from the upper side of the mesh belt 105 ofthe lower side, the smooth surface belt 145 is inverted to run by way ofthe rollers 178, 176, and the wet paper RP₀ on the smooth surface belt145 conveyed from the smooth surface belt 145 is provided with a uniformtension in the conveying and running direction by means of the runningaction of the smooth surface belt 145, and the curved shape of thesmooth surface belt 145 by the belt guide unit 200 (180), and by thepressing force by covering with the mesh belt 251 of the covering beltconveyor 250 from the upper side, the wet paper is heated and driedwhile being held in a sandwich state by uniform pressures from the upperand lower side. As a result, the wrinkle and the warp of the wet paperRP₀ caused in the proceeding process of paper making process areeffectively eliminated, and occurrence of wrinkle or warp of the wetpaper by the heating and drying process by the heater plate 180 can beeffectively prevented, and the entire wet paper RP₀ is uniformly driedby an appropriate ventilation of the mesh belt 251 of the upper side, sothat the wet paper RP₀ is regenerated into a smooth recycled paper (drypaper) RP on the whole.

The running speed of the mesh belt 251 is controlled in synchronism withthe running speed of the smooth surface belt 145 in the drying conveyor170 in the drying process unit, and recycled paper of smooth and desiredpaper quality will be obtained.

In other words, if the running speed of the mesh belt 251 of the upperside is not synchronized with the conveying speed of the smooth surfacebelt 145 of the lower side, the wet paper RP₀ (or dry paper (recycledpaper RP)) may be loosened to be wrinkled, or torn apart by an excessivetension to the contrary, and desired smoothing processing effect may notbe obtained. To prevent such inconvenience, it is necessary tosynchronize the running speed of the mesh belt 251 with the conveyingspeed of the smooth surface belt 145 of the drying process unit 170.

In the illustrated preferred embodiment, the running drive source of thetwo belts 145, 251 is the common drive motor 106, and by the mechanicalconfiguration of the drive transmission system, the running speeds ofthe two belts 145, 251 are synchronized.

The recycled paper smoothing unit 10 of the present preferred embodimenthaving such configuration is provided with the pressing unit 250 forpressing the entire wet paper RP₀ conveyed on the smooth surface belt145 with a uniform pressure from the upper side, and this pressing unit250 is formed as a covering belt conveyor having the covering belt 251running while covering the entire wet paper RP₀ on the smooth surfacebelt 145 in a pressed state together with the smooth surface belt 145.The lower side of the covering belt 251 cooperates with the upper sideof the smooth surface belt 145, and forms a flat smoothing actionsurface for smoothing the entire wet paper RP₀. As a result, the wetpaper RP₀ on the smooth surface belt 145 is heated and dried while beingheld in a sandwich state with a uniform pressure from the upper andlower side, by the pressing force by the covering belt conveyor 250 fromthe upper side, in addition to the smoothing action by the runningaction of the smooth surface belt 145 and the curved shape of the smoothsurface belt 145 by the belt guide unit 200 (180), and hence smoothingof the entire recycled paper RP may be further promoted from theconfiguration in preferred embodiment 1.

In other words, the wet paper RP₀ (recycled paper RP) is heated anddried while being held in a flat state, by the cooperative action of thesandwich structure of a specified pressure by the smooth surface belt145 and the covering belt 251, together with the uniform tension appliedin the conveying and running direction, and the wrinkle and warp causedon the wet paper RP₀ in the proceeding process of paper making processis effectively lost and removed, and occurrence of wrinkle and warp ofthe wet paper RP₀ (recycled paper RP) by the heating and drying actionby the heater plate 180 can be effective prevented further, andtherefore in the very narrow used paper processing space of a furnituresize, a smooth recycled paper RP free from wrinkle can be regeneratedsecurely.

Moreover, the covering belt 251 of the covering belt conveyor 250 isformed of a mesh belt composed of numerous mesh cells capable of passingand releasing the steam heated and evaporated fro the wet paper RP₀ onthe smooth surface belt 145 to the upper side, in spite of the presenceof the covering belt 251, the steam generated by heating of the wetpaper RP₀ can be effectively elevated and dissipated, and the dryingprocess is smoothly promoted.

Further, the running speed of the mesh belt for composing the coveringbelt 251 is controlled in synchronism with the running speed of thesmooth surface belt 145 in the drying belt conveyor unit (drying processunit) 97, and the wet paper RP₀ is stably maintained in a sandwichstructure, and is heated and dried effectively.

The other configuration and effects are same as in preferred embodiment1.

Embodiment 3

This preferred embodiment is shown in FIG. 11, in which theconfiguration of the recycled paper smoothing unit (recycled papersmoothing device, recycled paper smoothing means) 10 of preferredembodiment 2 is slightly modified.

That is, a curved guide surface 200 a of the belt guide unit 200 of thepresent preferred embodiment has a principal curved section curvedupward to the running direction of the smooth surface belt 145, and anauxiliary curved section curved vertically upward to this principalcurved section.

In other words, in the foregoing preferred embodiments 1 and 2, the beltguide unit 200 has the curved guide surface 200 a having a principalcurved section curved upward toward the running direction of the smoothsurface belt 145, that is, the belt running direction section as shownin FIG. 6A and FIG. 10A, and this curved guide surface 200 a is formedin a horizontal straight state in a section contour vertical to theprincipal curved section, that is, in a section contour in the beltwidth direction, as shown in FIG. 6B and FIG. 10B.

By contrast, in the recycled paper smoothing unit 10 of the presentpreferred embodiment, the belt guide unit 200 has the curved guidesurface 200 a having a principal curved section (belt running directionsection) curved upward toward the running direction of the smoothsurface belt 145, but this curved guide surface 200 a has an auxiliarycurved section curved upward vertically to this principal curvedsection, same as in the principal curved section as shown in FIG. 11.

By such section structure of the curved guide surface 200 a of the beltguide unit 200, the wet paper RP₀ on the smooth surface belt 145receives the smoothing action by the running action of the smoothsurface belt 145 mentioned above, and the curved shape of the smoothsurface belt 145 by the belt guide unit 200 (180), and the pressingforce by covering of the covering belt conveyor 250, not only in thebelt running direction but also in the belt width direction verticalthereto, and as a result the smoothing of the entire recycled paper RPmay be further promoted from the configuration of preferred embodiment2.

The other configuration and effects are same as in preferred embodiment2.

Embodiment 4

This preferred embodiment is shown in FIG. 12, in which theconfiguration of the recycled paper smoothing unit (recycled papersmoothing device, recycled paper smoothing means) 10 of embodiment 2 isslightly modified.

That is, the mesh belt 251 of the covering belt conveyor 250 in therecycled paper smoothing unit 10 of the present embodiment is made ofthe mesh belt 105 for composing the paper making net conveyor 100.

This mesh belt 105 is, as shown in the drawing, disposed and configuredto run straightly toward the running direction in the paper making beltconveyor unit 95, and run by returning in the opposite direction in thedrying belt conveyor unit 97. As a result, the wet paper RP₀ made andformed in the paper making belt conveyor unit 95 is directly transferredto the drying belt conveyor unit 97, and is dried and processed.

The other configuration and effects are same as in preferred embodiment2.

The foregoing embodiments 1 to 4 may be modified and changed in designas described below.

For example, the specific configuration of the recycled paper smoothingunit (recycled paper smoothing device, recycled paper smoothing means)10 of the present invention is not limited to the illustrated preferredembodiments alone, but other configurations having similar functions maybe employed.

For example, in preferred embodiments 1 to 4, the drive motor 106 fordriving the smooth surface belt 145 is used commonly as the runningdrive source of the covering belt 251, and hence the running speeds ofthe both belts 145, 251 are synchronized by the mechanical configurationof the drive transmission system, but by using individual independentrunning drive sources for the belt 145, 251, these drive sources may beelectrically controlled in synchronism by the device control unit 5.

In the used paper recycling apparatus in preferred embodiments 1 to 4,the grinder 50 for composing the beating unit 21 of the pulp making unit2 is used for pressurizing and beating the used paper by the beatingaction surfaces 5la, 52 a, and for grinding and pulverizing the inksforming the characters and patterns on the used paper, and by using onlythe tap water such as drinking water obtained from the general waterservices, the configuration requires no paper making chemicals such asused paper de-inking chemicals conventionally essential in large-scaleused paper recycling equipment in the paper making plant or used paperrecycling plant, and moreover the present invention is applicable, as amatter of course, not only in the used paper recycling apparatus capableof realizing used paper recycling by ordinary water alone, but also inthe used paper recycling apparatus using paper making chemicals such asused paper de-inking chemicals.

As the present invention may be embodied in several forms withoutdeparting from the spirit of essential characteristics thereof, thepresent preferred embodiment is therefore illustrative and notrestrictive, since the scope of the present invention is defined by theappended claims rather than by the description preceding them, and allchanges that fall within metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalenceof such metes and bounds thereof are therefore intended to be embracedby the claims.

1. A recycled paper smoothing device of a used paper recyclingapparatus, being a recycled paper smoothing device for smoothing andprocessing recycled paper, being disposed in a paper making unit formanufacturing recycled paper by making from used paper pulp manufacturedin a proceeding process of pulp making unit, in a used paper recyclingapparatus of furniture size to be installed at the site of origin ofused paper, wherein in the paper making unit, the recycled papersmoothing device is provided in a drying belt conveyor unit forproducing recycled paper by drying the wet paper made and formed in apaper making belt unit for producing wet paper by making from used paperpulp, and the recycled paper smoothing device constitutes the dryingbelt conveyor unit, and comprises a smooth surface belt for running andconveying the wet paper, and belt guide means for guiding the runningsmooth surface belt in a state curved upward toward the runningdirection, while sliding and supporting the running smooth surface beltfrom the lower side, and therefore the wet paper on the smooth surfacebelt conveyed by the smooth surface belt is provided with a tensionuniformly at least in the conveying and running direction, by therunning action of the smooth surface belt, and the curved shape of thesmooth surface belt by the belt guide means.
 2. The recycled papersmoothing device of a used paper recycling apparatus according to claim1, comprising pressing means for pressing the entire wet paper conveyedon the smooth surface belt with a uniform pressure from the upper side,wherein this pressing means is formed as a covering belt conveyor havinga covering belt for running with covering the entire wet paper on thesmooth surface belt together with the smooth surface belt in a pressedstate, and the covering belt has its lower side cooperating with theupper side of the smooth surface belt so as to form a flat smoothingaction surface for smoothing and processing the entire wet paper.
 3. Therecycled paper smoothing device of a used paper recycling apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the belt guide means is provided a curvedguide surface having a main curved section curved upward to the runningdirection of the smooth surface belt, and this smooth surface belt isdesigned to run in a state being curved upward, as being guided bysliding on the curved guide surface of the belt guide means.
 4. Therecycled paper smoothing device of a used paper recycling apparatusaccording to claim 3, wherein the curved guide surface of the belt guidemeans has an auxiliary curved section curved upward vertically to themain curved section.
 5. The recycled paper smoothing device of a usedpaper recycling apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the belt guidemeans is formed of a plate material curved and formed upward toward therunning direction of the smooth surface belt, and its upper side is thecurved guide surface.
 6. The recycled paper smoothing device of a usedpaper recycling apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the belt guidemeans functions also as heating means for heating the smooth surfacebelt from the lower side, and the wet paper on the smooth surface beltis heated and dried indirectly by the smooth surface belt heated by thisheating means.
 7. The recycled paper smoothing device of a used paperrecycling apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the heating means is aheater plate curved and formed upward toward the running direction ofthe smooth surface belt, and the upper side of this heater plate is thecurved guide surface.
 8. The recycled paper smoothing device of a usedpaper recycling apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the coveringbelt conveyor includes the covering belt formed as an endless beltrunning with covering the entire wet paper on the smooth surface beltheld tightly together with the smooth surface belt, and a drive motorfor propelling and driving this covering belt.
 9. The recycled papersmoothing device of a used paper recycling apparatus according to claim8, wherein the covering belt is formed of a mesh belt composed ofnumeral mesh cells for passing and releasing the moisture heated andevaporated from the wet paper on the smooth surface belt to the upperside.
 10. The recycled paper smoothing device of a used paper recyclingapparatus according to claim 9, wherein the mesh of the mesh belt is setat 12 to 40 mesh cells.
 11. The recycled paper smoothing device of aused paper recycling apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the runningspeed of the mesh belt is controlled to be synchronized with the runningspeed of the smooth surface belt in the drying process unit.
 12. Therecycled paper smoothing device of a used paper recycling apparatusaccording to claim 9, wherein the mesh belt is made of the mesh belt forcomposing the paper making net conveyor of the paper making belt unit,the mesh belt is disposed and configured to run straightly toward therunning direction in the paper making belt conveyor unit, and run byreturning in the opposite direction in the drying belt conveyor unit.13. A paper making device of a used paper recycling apparatus, in apaper making device for composing a used paper recycling apparatus offurniture size to be installed at the site of origin of used paper,being a paper making device for manufacturing recycled paper by makingfrom used paper pulp manufactured in a proceeding process of a pulpmaking device, comprising: a paper making belt conveyor unit forproducing wet paper by making from a slurry-like pulp suspension mixingwater and used paper pulp sent from the pulp making device, a dryingbelt conveyor for producing recycled paper by drying the wet paper madeand formed in this paper making belt conveyor unit, and a dewateringroll unit for squeezing and dewatering the wet paper at the linkageposition of the paper making belt conveyor unit and the drying beltconveyor unit, wherein the drying belt conveyor unit includes recycledpaper smoothing means for processing and discharging the wet paper madeand formed in the paper making conveyor unit as smooth recycled paper,and this recycled paper smoothing means is composed of the recycledpaper smoothing device of any one of claims 1 to
 12. 14. A used paperrecycling apparatus, comprising: in an apparatus case of furniture size,a pulp making unit for manufacturing used paper pulp by macerating andbeating used paper, a paper making unit for manufacturing recycled paperby making from the used paper pulp manufactured in this pulp makingunit, and a control unit for driving and controlling the pulp makingunit and the paper making unit by interlock, wherein the paper makingunit is composed of the paper making device of claim 13.